American Idol Saved By Real Judge

04/15/2011.

(TMZ) "American Idol" finalist Jacob Lusk threw himself at the mercy of a court back in November -- begging a judge to end his probation from a 2009 arrest so he could compete on "A.I." ... TMZ has learned. It all started back in February 2009 -- when cops cited Jacob for riding on an L.A. metro train without buying a ticket. Jacob blew off his court hearing and an arrest warrant was issued.

Fast forward to Nov. 2010 -- a day after Jacob auditioned for "Idol" and got his golden ticket to Hollywood -- Lusk was pulled over for a traffic stop. The cop discovered the warrant and arrested him. Jacob went to jail and then to court the next day and pled no contest to the train-hopping charge. He was sentenced to 3 days in jail and 2 years probation.

Jacob served his time and then went back to court, telling the judge "Idol" wouldn't let him on the show if he was on probation. After his emotional plea, the merciful judge terminated his probation. Fun jailhouse story here